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The 2011 Fuel Economy Guide released recently by the US Environmental Protection Agency points to the MINI Cooper as the most fuel-efficient car in its class. These new figures also indicate that this vehicle is able to rival the leaders in surrounding classes too. BMW boosted the power of the 2011 MINI Cooper but it could still boast a fuel economy rating of 29 mpg (9.74 liters per 100 km) city and 37 mpg (7.63 liters per 100 km) highway mileage. The MINI Cooper's naturally aspirated 1.6-liter four cylinder engine has an output of 121hp and 114 lb-ft (154 Nm) of torque. The turbocharged Cooper S and Clubman S are fitted with Vanos variable valve timing and its performance has been enhanced by 4hp to total 181hp.

The John Cooper Works variants have the same power rating at 208 hp; however, its mileage is the lowest in the MINI range. The JCW convertible has a combined rating of 29 mpg (9.7 liters per 100 km). There are very few models that offer higher mileage than a MINI Cooper. Hybrids fare better but the Cooper is really not too far behind Honda's CR-Z sport hybrid, which can return 39 mpg on the highway.

For instance, the MINI Cooper S has a fuel economy rating of 34 mpg (8.3 liters per 100 km) on the highway. But a potential buyer who's caught between these two vehicles might want to know that the Cooper S has a power output of 181 hp while the CR-Z delivers 122 hp. Pricing of Cooper's 2011 models has risen by $600 to $750. The Cooper hardtop, which is the least expensive MINI for 2011, has a retail price of $20,100. The starting price of the 2011 MINI Cooper Convertible is $25,550 while the Clubman is priced at $21,800.

Just got my Mini a few weeks ago, so I don't have a lot of experience with it. Yet, I was delighted when I was immediately getting 30 mpg city driving. I then drove from Florida to Wash., DC, 2000 miles R/T, and was getting 35.3 mpg. 'Course, a couple times I had to hit my imaginary turbos, and may have lost a little mpg, but happy to have the power. GO, Little Green Giant!!

My daily driver has been an E90 M3 because I used to travel frequently for work, now instead of travel I commute 200+ miles a week with a 600 mile journey to jersey once a month, so I put a deposit on a MINI which I will be leasing. Very excited! Cooper Hardtop, lots of bells (wife wanted me to get certain options for her enjoyment.)

I have a daily commute of 100 miles on the autobahn and have tried many things to get the best mileage that I can. I have learned that I will get more miles per tank with 91AKI octane vrs 95 AKI octane and if I set my cruise control on 65 mph I can bounce between 35 and 45mpg for the entire drive. My average MPG for the drive is 36-38mpg. My wife's efficient dynamics 118i will do the same commute at 15-20mph faster and do 42-45 mpg. My Mini is a 2009 MCS now with about 62k miles, I run Royal Purple oil. The Royal Purple gave me an additional 2-3 mpg when I started using it.

Hi, David, WOW, you're in Mannheim; I know the autobahn very well, having lived in Stuttgart for 18 months years ago. Looks like you have higher octane choices than we have. Here in the east, we have 93; I know westward, it's only 91. I drove my Saab from central Florida to Phoenix, and noticed that the mileage was less with the 91 than 93. I didn't realize that the type of oil also affects the mileage. I haven't had to do a servicing yet, have about 4,000 miles on my MINI. Isn't the autobahn open speed limit? I remember doing 120 mph, but my ex did 140 mph, not klicks. That was in a big Cedes. Gas was 45 cents a gallon then. We weren't worried about mileage. lol

Yes, on my autobahn there is no limit (my Mini tops out at 150mph (gps checked) but I drive over 500 miles a week and I try anything I can to keep the costs down. As for what cars run better with each octane type, every car is different but rule of thumb is run the lowest octane your car can run without pinging or detonation.

With 4k miles you should have done the break in oil change. Metal particles= bad. I know it isn't covered in your free maintenance but for the break in oil change bite the bullet and pony up the cash yourself!

Yes, on my autobahn there is no limit (my Mini tops out at 150mph (gps checked) but I drive over 500 miles a week and I try anything I can to keep the costs down. As for what cars run better with each octane type, every car is different but rule of thumb is run the lowest octane your car can run without pinging or detonation.

With 4k miles you should have done the break in oil change. Metal particles= bad. I know it isn't covered in your free maintenance but for the break in oil change bite the bullet and pony up the cash yourself!

David, I can't thank you enough. I didn't know about the break in oil change. Silly me, I rely on salesmen/service people. I had some problems, such as it wasn't responding, not sluggish, but didn't have the same acceleration, nor slow up when I raised my foot off the gas. I called service, and they blew me off. I just called my salesman who suggested I take the car in, have them test drive it. Since I am having problems, they should do the oil change in case that may be causing them. Thank you again so much for the tip!

BMW boosted the power of the 2011 MINI Cooper but it could still boast a fuel economy rating of 29 mpg (9.74 liters per 100 km) city and 37 mpg (7.63 liters per 100 km) highway mileage. The MINI Cooper's naturally aspirated 1.6-liter four cylinder engine has an output of 121hp and 114 lb-ft (154 Nm) of torque.

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For instance, the MINI Cooper S has a fuel economy rating of 34 mpg (8.3 liters per 100 km) on the highway.

That is using an imperial gallon for the conversion, which is 20 percent larger than a U.S gallon. The fuel economy expressed in l/100 km is actually quite a bit better than that - based on the fueleconomy.gov rating of 35 hwy mpg for the Mini S, the l/100 km is only 6.7 highway - pretty impressive!

ah, my "mistake"....the Mini Cooper and the Hyundai Elantra are in different classes, which is why BMW can claim the Cooper is so great on gas.

Technically that's correct, but that statement is very disingenious....

The Mini Cooper is classified as "Mini Compact" car.

There are plenty of cars, which in fact are larger and more powerful, that get better gas mileage (i.e. the VW Golf and Jetta, in the "Compact" category).

And, the Hyundai Elantra, for some reason is in the "Midsize" category...and IT gets better mileage than the Cooper too.

In light of this, the Cooper's fuel economy is nothing special at all, you can get a midsize car from Hyundai (still a compact car in my opinion and most others) with much more interior space, larger trunk and more power that still gets better mileage....

Sure, the Cooper DOES get great mileage, but there are at least three other cars which are larger that get better mileage....nice comparision EPA, and way to rely upon it BMW

The Elantra is in the mid-size class because the EPA uses interior room to classify the cars.

I haven't seen an Elantra (don't think they sell it in the UK) but it does look very competitive. MINI, especially the Hatch, is a niche car. I'm not sure how many people are going to cross shop.

BMW worked magic on the Prince engine. The end result was much better than the French design they started with. 6 years ago this motor was a class leader. Maybe BMW can squeeze out more with another update.

Maybe they'd be better off making the car lighter. At 2568lbs. it's not exactly light for the size.

Coopers have wide performance tires. Gearing matters too. I'm not sure how that works out in real world driving. I wouldn't be surprised if the Elantra is faster in a drag race but slower in Autocross. A UK Cooper goes 0-60 in 9.1 seconds. Anyone have numbers for the Elantra?

MINI USA could change the game completely if they started importing the Cooper SD. Those are powered by a BMW N47 diesel with 143HP and 305Nm torque. The SD Hatch and Clubman go 0-60 in 8.1 seconds and use 25% less fuel than a Cooper. Since it isn't sold in the US, there aren't any EPA numbers for an SD, but they would be something like 36/46.